TRIPOLI , Libya -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Friday with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi , who asked for the latest news on the hurricanes plaguing U.S. coasts in recent weeks .

Condoleezza Rice and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi discussed the weather Friday at their initial meeting .

`` The first one was not as bad as feared , but there are two more coming , '' Rice told the man dubbed by President Reagan `` the mad dog in the Middle East . ''

Rice 's visit is the first time in more than half a century that a U.S. secretary of state has visited the former pariah nation .

Upon her arrival , Rice met with the Libyan foreign minister and then toured the new U.S. Embassy .

`` We are working on a trade and investment agreement , a framework , which will allow the improvement of the climate for investment , which I know very many American firms wish to do , '' Rice said after her meeting with Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalgam .

She called the meeting a `` good start '' toward establishing a `` positive relationship '' with Libya .

Rice and Gadhafi met in a reception room at the Libyan 's Bab el-Azizia compound . Gadhafi , wearing a white robe and a black fez but not his trademark dark sunglasses , shook the hands of the male members of Rice 's staff but not Rice , instead offering the traditional greeting of his hand over his heart for her . Watch excitement in Libya at Rice 's trip ''

Muslim men are prohibited from shaking hands with women to whom they are not related .

After their meeting , Rice joined Gadhafi , who once called Rice `` Leeza ... my darling black African woman , '' in a traditional Muslim evening meal breaking the fast during the holy month of Ramadan .

Last year in an interview with Al-Jazeera , Gadhafi suggested Rice ran the Arab world with which he has sometimes had stark differences .

`` I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders , '' he said . `` I love her very much ... because she 's a black woman of African origin . ''

The two are expected to meet in the leader 's Bedouin tent he favors for high-profile meetings

Rice 's visit marks a 180-degree turn in relations between Washington and Tripoli , which for more than three decades have been marked by personal animosity and insults , Libyan terror attacks and U.S. airstrikes .

Libya 's rehabilitation from being dubbed a `` state sponsor of terrorism '' to a member of the U.N. Security Council represents a rare foreign policy success for the Bush administration in its last months in office .

In Lisbon , before flying to Tripoli , Rice called her trip `` a historic moment and it is one that has come after a lot of difficulty , the suffering of many people that will never be forgotten or assuaged , a lot of Americans in particular . ''

Libya , she acknowledged , `` is a place that is changing and I want to discuss how that change is taking place . ''

`` I am very much looking forward to it , '' she told reporters

The United States restored relations with Tripoli in 2005 , after Gadhafi 's decision to abandon his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction , renounce terrorism and compensate victims of the 1986 La Belle disco bombing in Berlin and the 1988 Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie , Scotland . It also dropped Libya from its State Sponsors of Terrorism list , the only country except for Iraq to have been removed .

Since then , several U.S. officials have visited Tripoli and Rice has met several times with her Libyan counterpart . The United States opened its embassy in Tripoli in 2006 .

The United States has praised Libya 's cooperation in fighting terrorism in North Africa , where al Qaeda has been gaining a foothold . U.S. officials also say Gadhafi has prevented Libyan and other foreign fighters from traveling to Iraq to join insurgent movements .

At the United Nations , Libya has also voted with the United States to crack down on Iran 's nuclear program and has sought to play a helpful role in the crisis in Darfur .

Yet relations between the two countries face strains over Libya 's poor human rights record and final settlement of claims from the La Belle and Lockerbie bombings .

In her meetings with Libyan officials , Rice is expected to raise the issue of political prisoners , especially Fathi al-Jahami , a leading Libyan reformer held in detention since 2002 .

Last month the United States and Libya reached a deal to resolve outstanding claims for the bombings , but Libya has yet to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to a fund set up to compensate the bombing victims ' families .

Many of the Lockerbie victims ' families have criticized Rice 's decision to meet with Gadhafi , whom they say remains unrepentant for the explosion , which killed 280 people , 180 of them Americans .

In a recent interview with the BBC , Gadhafi 's son , Saif al-Islam al-Gadhafi , called the Lockerbie families `` very greedy '' and `` trading with the blood of their sons and daughters '' for money .

The Bush administration has expressed sympathy with the Lockerbie families but says it is time to move forward with a new relationship with Libya .

The deal paves the way for greater access by American companies to Libya 's booming economy , in particular its vast oil reserves , the ninth largest in the world .

European companies have had much greater access to Libya 's energy sector , but Libyan officials say the improved relations with the United States will result in more deals with American oil companies , including exploring vast areas of the country that remain untapped .

The country 's growing banking , infrastructure and telecommunications sectors also offer enormous opportunities for American investors .

Rice will travel throughout North Africa after leaving Tripoli , stopping in Morocco , Algeria and Tunisia . But it is the visit to Libya that the State Department recognizes will be the most talked about .

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Condoleezza Rice meets with Moammar Gadhafi in Libya

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First trip to Libya by a U.S. secretary of state in more than 50 years

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Libya 's journey from pariah nation has taken several years

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U.S. companies hoping to take advantage on new friendlier relations